Mediterranean

They look like a cross between a caterpillar and a tricked out centipede. They crawl about with considerable agility, they are voracious feeders, and they certainly know how to defend themselves. Meet the Bearded Fireworm (Hermodice carunculata), a free-moving marine Polychaete worm.
This species is widely distributed from the Caribbean, throughout the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean (including Florida and the Bahamas), and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. All of the images in this post were captured in the Mediterranean, in the waters around Cyprus and Greece.
H. carunculata is…

Nudibranchs -- marine snails without shells -- make wonderful photo subjects for the macro photographer. They are small, colorful, and they move slowly (as snails are wont to do). That last characteristic is particularly welcome. Most fishes are in motion almost constantly, and non-sessile invertebrates tend to scurry hither and thither. It's nice to find a subject that is not only photogenic, but doesn't turn tail or flat out disappear before the photographer can focus the camera's lens!
It's always interesting to find out and record which critters feed on what. Here are some macro…

I like to photograph the faces of creatures that live in the sea. Here is a sampler of fish faces. All of these individuals belong to the Wrasse (Labridae) family. Most wrasses seem to have attractive markings on their faces, which show up well in close-up images like these.
Shown above: Thalassoma klunzingeri, from the Red Sea, about 15 cm (six inches) long. This one was photographed near Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.
Shown above: Halichoeres hortulanus, about 23 cm (nine inches) long. Also from the Red Sea, this one was photographed at Ras Mohammed, at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula.…

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